The Open Era
United States · born Miami, 1954 · right-handed · Wimbledon doubles champion 1977 with Helen Gourlay Cawley
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1977
Wimbledon ladies' doubles title with Helen Gourlay Cawley, unseeded
6-3, 6-3
Final score against the top seeds Martina Navratilova and Betty Stöve
1982
Wimbledon quarter-finals in singles, doubles and mixed
No. 11
World singles ranking, 1977
1993
Wimbledon 35 and over ladies' invitation doubles title
JoAnne Russell was born in Miami on 30 October 1954 and grew up in Naples, Florida, in a tennis family. A local coach, Tommy Boys, saw her play at 14, changed her two-handed backhand to one hand and turned her into a serve-volleyer; when her parents could no longer pay, he taught her for nothing.
At Trinity University in San Antonio she won the NCAA doubles in 1975 with Donna Stockton. She played the women's tour from 1975 to 1988, reached No. 11 in singles in 1977, won two singles titles in 1984 and was ranked No. 1 in doubles with Rosie Casals in 1978. Her best year at Wimbledon apart from 1977 was 1982, when she reached the quarter-finals in singles, doubles and mixed. She was also a finalist in the 1981 US Open mixed doubles with Steve Denton.
After playing she commentated for NBC, ESPN and other networks, coached at the universities of Florida and Illinois, and won senior titles at Wimbledon and the US Open. In 2015 she was teaching at Grey Oaks Country Club in Naples.
| Wimbledon 1977 final | With Helen Gourlay Cawley, unseeded, beat the top seeds Martina Navratilova and Betty Stöve 6-3, 6-3 in 55 minutes on Centre Court; they had beaten Chris Evert and Rosie Casals in the first round |
|---|---|
| Wimbledon 1982 | Quarter-finals in singles, doubles and mixed; she reached the singles last eight by beating Sylvia Hanika and then met Martina Navratilova |
| Wimbledon 1981 | Her doubles match with Virginia Ruzici against Sue Barker and Ann Kiyomura was halted for bad light at 9.35pm with the final set at 5-5; the crowd threw cushions and programmes onto Centre Court |
| 35 and over invitation doubles | Won at Wimbledon in 1993 with Barbara Nagelsen, beating Wendy Turnbull and Virginia Wade; runner-up to them in 1994 and 1995 |
| Wimbledon | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1977 | Women's doubles | with Helen Gourlay |
Leading grass titles only: the grass majors, tour-level grass events since 1968 and the leading grass championships before 1968. †single source; ‡ sources disagree. Roll of champions
"I've got a better chance than she does!"
The person behind the player.
Wimbledon, 1977
She and Helen Gourlay Cawley had never met before they paired up. Cawley liked the deuce court, Russell's favourite, so Russell agreed to take the other side. "They ended up winning Wimbledon," said her friend Steve Vaughan. "It doesn't get better than that."
Source: Gulfshore Life, May 2015Wimbledon, 1982
After she beat Sylvia Hanika to reach the quarter-finals, Hanika said Russell could not beat Martina Navratilova. Asked about it, Russell leaned into the microphone: "I've got a better chance than she does!" Mary Carillo called it "the quintessential Russ story".
Source: Gulfshore Life, May 2015Naples, Florida
As a girl she cycled to Cambier Park and waited until a retiree asked her to play. "That's why my game is the way it is," she said. "I'm a lot more creative, like, drop shot, lobbing. Those guys, that's all they did. I had to run for everything."
Source: Gulfshore Life, May 2015Cape Coral
Tommy Boys told her parents she could be a pro after seeing her win a local tournament at 14. "My dad just laughed," she said. "I think I double-faulted like 25 times." When her parents could no longer afford the lessons Boys taught her for free; she only found out in her first year as a professional.
Source: Gulfshore Life, May 2015Free membership: player news, the grass court Atlas, the rankings and the grass season calendar.
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